In the past decade, it has become common for many residential and commercial property owners to have a continuous custom concrete curb or edging installed around flower beds, trees gardens, etc. to enhance the appearance of their landscaping. The continuous concrete curb or edging is formed using a portable curb forming and extruding machine such as those manufactured by “Borderline Stamp. Inc.” of Surprise, Ariz., and “The Concrete Edge Company” of Orlando, Fla., as well as others. Such machines typically include a reciprocating ram or an auger to force concrete or other building materials through a mold. Each machine includes a hopper for receiving the material and a motor and gear box for driving the ram or auger.
In addition, several different kinds of mold units can be affixed to the extruding machines so as to form concrete or asphalt walkways, speed bumps, automobile stops in parking lots, etc.
It has been recognized that over time, after the continuous mold has been installed, that it may be acceptable to cracking and breaking. Such cracking and breaking can occur for a number of reasons. In general, the makeup of a particular soil, movement of the ground, shifting soil, ground tremors, earthquakes, soil erosion, etc. can affect a concrete mold. In addition, in southern climates, a mold can crack or break due to the consistency of the soil, the amount of clay and/or sand in the soil. In northern climates, a large fluctuation in temperatures can cause the ground to heave or move due to freezing and thawing. For example, a severe winter in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan or upstate New York, where frost is common, can cause the upper layer of the soil to move or heave. This movement can easily cause a continuous concrete mold having a height of less than about eight inches to heave, crack and/or break. It is not uncommon to see a continuous mold heave or fall two to three inches from its original elevation due to the action of frost. Another cause of such cracking and breaking can occur if an automobile or truck drives over the curb or edging. Furthermore, certain soils are more prone to settling due to soil erosion, water runoff, wind, etc. and this too can cause the continuous mold to crack or break at various locations. When the continuous mold does crack or break, the top and/or side surfaces of adjoining sections can acquire a step or shoulder appearance which is unsightly. Such an uneven and unsightly appearance destroys the aesthetic appearance of the continuous mold.
One solution to preventing or minimizing such cracking and breaking from occurring over time is to embed one or more flexible reinforcement cables or wires in the continuous mold as it is being formed. The flexible reinforcement cables or wires can be formed from various materials and should extend along the length of the continuous mold. The flexible reinforcement cables or wires can vary in diameter but should be of sufficient strength to provide reinforcement to the continuous mold.
In the past, reinforcement cables and wires have been incorporated into concrete and asphalt sidewalks, driveways, curbing, edging, speed bumps, etc. to prevent cracking and breaking. The most common way of accomplishing this was to form a crisscross pattern of rigid reinforcement rods and to position the rods on the ground before the concrete was poured. This works well for large concrete sections like driveways and walkways but does not lend itself to an elongated narrow strip of curbing or edging. Some contractors have also tried to insert rigid reinforcement rods into curbs and edgings but this had its drawbacks especially when the curb or edging was molded into a curve or circular shape. Because of this, contractors have transitioned away from rigid reinforcement rods to the use of flexible cables so that they could form non-linear shapes. Some contractors have attempted to embed a flexible cable by cutting it to a length approximately equal to the length of the continuous mold which is to be formed. The cable or wire was then routed through a portion of the extrusion mold and was secured to the ground at a starting point. The concrete was then extruded from the mold forming machine onto the top of the cable. This process had three major drawbacks. First, it was inefficient in that the cable had to be first cut and positioned in place. Second, the cable was pushed downward against the ground by the weight of the moldable material. With the reinforcing cable located adjacent to the ground, the cable may not be able to reduce separation of the mold at points where cracking does occur. Third, if the cable was initially cut too short, there was no easy way to add additional cable. This meant that a portion of the finished curb or edging was void of any reinforcement cable.
Accordingly, there is currently a need for a cable guide system for a mold forming and extruding machine. There is also a need for a method which can automatically feed a sufficient amount of cable into an extruded moldable substance such that continuous molds of various shapes and lengths can be formed. There is also a need for a cable guide system for a mold forming and extruding machine that can regulate and maintain the height level of a flexible reinforcement cable or wire within the finished continuous mold. Furthermore, there is a need for a cable guide system for a mold forming and extruding machine that can form an elongated, continuous curb or edging which may have both linear and non-liner sections, or may contain extreme curves, such as tight circles having a diameter of only a few feet.